A Florida bill that would force owners of dangerous dogs to pay more in insurance and even have repeat-offending dogs “destroyed” is moving forward in Tallahassee after being unanimously approved by a state House committee last week.
The bill, called “Pam Rock Act,” was named after a Putnam County mail carrier who was killed two years ago after being attacked by a pack of dogs while on the job. Rock, 61, was doing her daily rounds when the canines escaped from a fenced-in yard and violently attacked her.
While there are several rules about such attacks at the local level, the statewide bill would force owners of dangerous dogs to register their pets and strengthen penalties against them, as well as the animals.
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“The Legislature finds that dangerous dogs are an increasingly serious and widespread threat to the safety and welfare of the people of this state because of unprovoked attacks which cause injury to persons and domestic animals,” the bill reads, adding that “such attacks are in part attributable to the failure of owners to confine and properly train and control their dogs.”
The legislators say the existing laws “inadequately address this growing problem” and need changing.
Under the bill, a dog is considered dangerous if it has aggressively bitten, attacked, endangered or has inflicted severe injury on a person on public or private property; if it has more than once severely injured or killed a domestic animal while off the owner’s property; or if it has chased or approached a person upon the streets, sidewalks, or any public grounds in a menacing fashion or apparent attitude of attack “unprovoked.”
A local committee would have to investigate dog-related incidents and officially deem a dog dangerous when it fits the above description.
Under the Pam Rock Act, a dog owner who has knowledge of their pet’s “dangerous propensities” must securely confine the dog in a proper enclosure, which might be indoors, in a locked, fenced yard or in any other secured locked structure. When bringing the dog outside, the owner must make sure the animal is muzzled.
If they fail to do so, or are found in breach of other restrictions included in the bill, they would have to pay a $1,000 fine. The bill would also force owners of dangerous dogs to purchase a $100,000 dog liability insurance policy.
Animal-control authorities can also confiscate a dog inflicting severe injury on a person or domestic animal or chasing a passerby unprovoked, following an investigation.
Legislators are also foreseeing a situation where a canine would need to be put down. Under the new proposed legislation, a dangerous dog who attacks or bites a person or a domestic animal unprovoked would be immediately confiscated from its owner by an animal-control authority, placed in quarantine, if necessary, for the proper length of time and held for 10 business days after the owner has received written notification.
After the 10 days, the dog would be destroyed in an expeditious and humane way. Its owner would be considered guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree.
The Pam Rock Act now has to go through a Judiciary Committee before moving to the House floor for a final vote.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.